A Photo is Worth a Thousand Blessings?

It's been a whirlwind month so far, and all because of one picture that I took, which is shown below. It was taken with a Canon 40D and my new Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens.



I had also taken photos of the Perseid Meteor Shower a week after the Aurora, but more on that later. I had submitted my photos to Spaceweather.com and three of them got posted at the bottom of the following pages -

August 2010 Aurora Gallery page 3


August 2010 Aurora Gallery page 4


As a result of the Spaceweather.com postings, a reporter from SPACE.com got a hold of me and asked my permission to use one of the photos in a news story she was working on. Naturally, I said, "Yes." The story got posted on the SPACE.com and Yahoo.com websites.

SPACE.com Aurora story



Yahoo.com Aurora story


Then I got contacted by a guy who works for the Group for Earth Observation GEO and asked permission to use one of the photos in their magazine. Again, I said, "Yes." Once it is ready, I'll post some photos of it.

After that, I submitted one of the photos to the Astronomy Photo of the Day webstite APOD. While it didn't make the cut to get posted their, a woman asked permission to post the photo of the websites forum called Starship Asterisk - APOD and General Astronomy Discussion Forum


Then, the CTV News morning show Canada AM and I were in talks to do an on-camera interbiew to be broadcast during the show. Unfortunately, due to a major breaking news story, it had to be postponed. I had to submit a number of photos to them on the Aurora and the Perseid Meteor Shower, as well as a headshot in case they wanted to do a phone interview instead. Well, I'm still waiting to hear about that.

However, as a consolation prize, my Aurora photo appeared on a blog by a reporter at the local newspaper, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Her blog is called Mousing Around and the post she did on my photo can be found here.


As a result of her efforts, my Aurora photo was also printed in the Star Phoenix newspaper. Below is the picture of my Aurora photo in the newspaper along with a story about my good friend Bob of Blackholes and astrostuff.


One of my meteor shower pictures was chosen as one of the Yahoo Editorial Perseid Meteor Gallery.



And finally, to top it all off, one of my Aurora photos was chosen as the SkyNews Editor's Choice Photo of the Week.



I feel very blessed to have received all of this attention. It means a lot to me and has been a very special experience.

Firm hopes method resonates with mining industry

Below is a link to a Star Phoenix article about Leaf and Stone. The guys who own the company, Robert Fisher and Murray McArthur are two smart guys who I consider friends. We're working together on a project and I am excited to be a part of it. I've also included the text of the story, in case the link on the Star Phoenix site ever changes.

Firm hopes method resonates with mining industry

"Firm hopes method resonates with mining industry Satellite-based data analysis touted for exploration

By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix - June 30, 2010

As the old saying goes, if something is too good to be true it usually is.

It's an adage Saskatoon businessperson Robert Fisher, CEO of Leaf and Stone Resonance Services Ltd. (L&S) is fighting against as he tries to spread the word about a new type of mineral exploration technology that uses satellite-based data analysis to locate Mother Nature's hidden resources.

"Give us a sample and we'll find the match -- it doesn't really matter what you're looking for," Fisher said in a recent interview.

"What we're really doing is we're taking a physics and a mathematical solution to a geological problem."

Using resonance coupling technology, a method developed by his Austin, Texas-based friend and business partner David Carr, the company surveys a client's property via satellite looking for a match to the sample substance provided. So far the technology, which is licensed to Carr's company Natural Resource Testing LLC, has found oil, gas, gold, diamonds and several other natural substances using the unique method.

Clients have been satisfied with the resonance coupling results, but it has been difficult for L&S, which acts as the marketing agent for the technology, to convince long-serving mining industry executives to give the technology a try.

"No one believes us. It's been our biggest issue," said Fisher, a longtime Saskatoon resident who used to work in the heath-care software industry.

"We say we have great credibility, but I'm sure to geologists and geophysicists we have none. . . . But it's just a matter of time -- 30 clients are now 40 and it's growing."

In a nondescript office in downtown Saskatoon, Fisher presents evidence of the technology's accuracy: Maps showing the resonance coupling picking up the gold vein between Red Lake and Madsen, Ont.; notes of thanks, including one praising the company for informing a client the actual location of its gold deposit was really 30 metres in the opposite direction and a letter of reference from an oil and gas company praising the veracity of the exploration method.

Resonance coupling, Fisher explained, isn't supposed to replace traditional mineral exploration methods. Based on the physics principle that every substance on earth has a unique resonance signal, the technology can focus in on where deposits are located, increasing accuracy and reducing needless drilling.

"Is saves you money, which is the big name in exploration," he said.

With the industry naturally skeptical of new technology -- especially one such as resonance coupling -- Fisher understands any acceptance of the unique exploration system will take time.

Still, with a sales office recently opening in Australia and the company recording its first repeat customer just last week, Fisher remains positive about the applications of the technology he believes is worth billions of dollars.

"I truly believe that is the battle; we need to just convert people," he said.

ckyle@sp.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix"